Star Wars: Echo

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Eighteen years ago the Clone Wars ended, the Galactic Republic died, the Jedi Order was extinguished, and the Galactic Empire was born. In those intervening years, the galaxy has known peace like the Republic or Jedi Order could ever achieve. Peace within the unrelenting grip of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader. The galaxy has known terror.

Though less than two decades have passed since the Jedi Order’s dissolution, the common citizen remembers little of them and what they once stood for. The Imperial propaganda machine continues to preach the Jedi’s betrayal to the public and Palpatine’s defining role is ridding the galaxy from Jedi scourge.

Where once the Grand Army of the Republic protected the Galactic Republic, the stormtroopers of the Imperial Army now march down seemingly every street and alley of the galaxy. The Imperial Security Bureau, with its inexhaustible list of suspects and treasonous enemies of the state, is the unblinking eye of Palpatine. Any voice against the Empire is snuffed out within its first cry. Kashyyyk, homeworld of the wookiees, is enslaved. The Mon Calamari and Quarren are forced into hard labor on Dac. The peaceful world of Caamas has been all but wiped from existence. Fear and death lie everywhere.

Within the shadows of the Empire, cartels and crime lords, such as the Black Sun syndicate and the Hutts, vie for Imperial scraps while corrupt local governments prey on the weak and innocent. Dark forces lurk everywhere in the galaxy and the shadows are alive with malice.

Then there are whispers of Sith. Those who have heard the name don’t wish to repeat it. Those that do repeat it do so while trembling and looking over their shoulder. Some say its the new name of the Jedi, the name they took as they seek revenge against the Empire. Other say that Darth Vader worships the Sith as some sort of dark god. Whatever the Sith is, everyone is afraid of it.

What is Star Wars: Echo?
You’ve seen the movies, maybe watched the TV shows, and perhaps read some of the novels or comics. Whatever you know about Star Wars, forget it. Star Wars: Echo is a disturbance in the Force, a divergence. To use a more heavy handed metaphor, its an echo of what was.

All you need to know in order to play within Star Wars: Echo, you can pull from the basic premise of all six movies. There is an evil Galactic Empire oppressing the galaxy. Before the Empire there was the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order. The Clone Wars lead to the downfall of the Republic and the birth of Empire. And there are the Sith.

After those broad strokes, things get a little out of focus. You can’t guarantee everything that happened in the movies, TV shows, or Expanded Universe happened. Even characters aren’t exactly the same. Is Luke a simple moisture farmer? Is Leia a really senator’s daughter and who is that woman always with her? Did Han Solo have a falling out with Jabba? What lurks behind Boba Fett’s helmet; what drives the bounty hunter? What is Chewbacca’s story? Who is Mara Jade? And what scheme is Lando Calrissian up to now, is it even a scheme?

Star Wars Echo begins the same year as Star Wars: A New Hope would have begun.